Tuff steering wheel... to restore or not to restore??

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lebdog74

lebdog74

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First of all I'm still learning so forgive my ignorance. I've been looking at steering wheels for my 74 Duster. I've been looking at different styles online and I was getting ready to one. i decided to get one that looks similar to the one that came with the car. While I was looking for that style,(thinking it was an aftermarket wheel to begin with), I came across the Tuff wheel and realized that it looks alot like what I had. So today i went and took my wheel off and it had a Mopar part number. I punched it in to google and sure enough it came up as the Tuff steering wheel. Problem is the previous owner took and siliconed a steering wheel cover to it, which is why I was going to replace it. Now that I know it is a Tuff wheel do I try to find someone that can restore it or do I just get an aftermarket one that I like. I did call a company I found online and they said it would be atleast $300, which is way out of my budget.
 
a pic of its condition would go a ways here. at any rate there is a tuff wheel here for sale around 100 bucks. year one sells them repopped for less too. i wouldnt spend 300 bucks to fix it. but thats just me. i found one in a junkyard in a dodge ramcharger in great shape for 15.00 ...good luck
 
My leather wrapped reproduction Tuff wheel wasn't $200?!?

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lebdog74 said:
First of all I'm still learning so forgive my ignorance. I've been looking at steering wheels for my 74 Duster. I've been looking at different styles online and I was getting ready to one. i decided to get one that looks similar to the one that came with the car. While I was looking for that style,(thinking it was an aftermarket wheel to begin with), I came across the Tuff wheel and realized that it looks alot like what I had. So today i went and took my wheel off and it had a Mopar part number. I punched it in to google and sure enough it came up as the Tuff steering wheel. Problem is the previous owner took and siliconed a steering wheel cover to it, which is why I was going to replace it. Now that I know it is a Tuff wheel do I try to find someone that can restore it or do I just get an aftermarket one that I like. I did call a company I found online and they said it would be atleast $300, which is way out of my budget.
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You might contact Dave Tays at:

http://rimblowsteeringwheels.com/

I don't know if he does leather.
 
If you find a wheel you like better than the Tuff, for less money than restoring, go for it. But PLEASE keep the Tuff wheel with the car. It's a cool option, and you might change your mind someday, and the next owner will thank you for it. It's not like changing paint color, or adding a scoop - it's easy to go back if you want to.

Edit: My above comment goes with the assumption that this is a factory Tuff wheel car. If not, it really doesn't matter to me.
 
Does that grant wheel use a factory adaptor, or a proprietary one?
 
YY1 said:
Does that grant wheel use a factory adaptor, or a proprietary one?
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Either. Grant has two styles. A larger one, which is the correct reproduction, with the correct type of horn button, and a smaller one which looks the same. I know that the larger one has the standard Grant pattern AND the factory pattern on it. People who have done it say to go with the factory hub, but that will be pricy. But you get what you pay for. The Grant hub uses an extension with this accordion boot thing. Not terrible, but not factory either.
 
I put this on my dart and you do not need the chrysler adaptor , works beautiful, got it with two different buttons, they are around 95 dollars avaible in black and argent, they are avalable on e bay now , and comes with everything too put it on . I like mine.
 

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the nice thing about those grant wheels is that you can drill three holes in it and use the original tuff wheel cap mount and cap.
 
I have a "Dale's Cuda Shop" repro blem. It was $135.
It's very nice, but it isn't spongy foam like the originals, and it's not quite as thick.
I'm not crazy about that ridge on the Grant (and I know they're nor spongy, either), but I am attracted to that leather wrapped one. If it takes the factory adaptor, I might have to go shopping.
I've been stockpiling cheap E body accordian adaptors and have about 5, plus one good A/B body one.
 
YY1 said:
I have a "Dale's Cuda Shop" repro blem. It was $135.
It's very nice, but it isn't spongy foam like the originals, and it's not quite as thick.
I'm not crazy about that ridge on the Grant (and I know they're nor spongy, either), but I am attracted to that leather wrapped one. If it takes the factory adaptor, I might have to go shopping.
I've been stockpiling cheap E body accordian adaptors and have about 5, plus one good A/B body one.
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im sure you could drill 3 holes in the wheel and bend the tab down on the factory adaptor and bolt it to it. then you could drill the wheel to accept the factory cap mount. i just might try this myself.
 
73AbodEE said:
im sure you could drill 3 holes in the wheel and bend the tab down on the factory adaptor and bolt it to it. then you could drill the wheel to accept the factory cap mount. i just might try this myself.
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That is whai I did.
 

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I just went through this, and this is how I did it. I bought the Grant wheel and adapter. I also purchased an A body can style adapter. I bolted the A body can on the shaft, and used all of the horn bits and pieces from the Grant adapter, and had the whole thing assembled in less than thirty minutes. NO HOLES were drilled in anything.
 
i think you have to change the setting on your camera, but im not sure. i just use the camera on my phone, send them to my email and save them to my computer, and upload them here.
 
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